Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Hansard source

I want to start by thanking all members for their contributions to this debate and for their support of the Special Recreational Vessels Amendment Bill 2023. I want to specifically acknowledge the members for Forde, Riverina and Ryan for their contributions to the debate to date.

The Special Recreational Vessels Act 2019 is due to sunset on 30 June 2023. An extension of the repeal date is necessary to enable these vessels to continue to come to Australia and to offer charters. Put quite simply, it is a common-sense approach to deal with the necessity that we have in front of us. As the member for Riverina has said, so many of these superyachts provide tourism dollars—into our regions most specifically. They support small businesses along the coast and they allow people to come into our regions, as we want them to, and explore the parts of the country that we probably take for granted quite frequently.

The bill supports charters continuing on the Australian coast until we deal with a long-term regulatory solution. Prior to the introduction of the Special Recreational Vessels Act in 2019, special recreational vessels visited our Pacific neighbours but would bypass Australia, which was not good for us and not good for tourism as a whole. The Australian government put the act in place to allow these special recreational vessels, known as superyachts, to charter in Australian waters and to realise the opportunities they bring for hospitality, for tourism providers, for suppliers and for our regional communities. Providing new possibilities for these businesses and communities is even more important now on the back of COVID-19, supply chain issues, droughts, floods and fires.

The bill provides certainty for businesses, particularly in our regional coastal communities. They will continue to benefit from special recreational vessels that charter here, helping Australians to take advantage of the industry. I look forward to continuing to work with the owners of these superyachts as we move towards a longer-term regulatory solution.

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